I've been a Savage Worlds enthusiast for a very long time. It's been my game of choice for years. I haven't always gotten the opportunity to run it, but when I have I've always thoroughly enjoyed it. Well I have to admit that I was recently tempted away by a shiny new fantasy rpg. And I'll admit, it was a blast at first. I'm the DM and the flashy new mechanics reeled me and my gaming group in. It wasn't long before all it's luster was lost. Overcomplicated tactical combat, a tedious hit point system and overpowered character abilities made running the game no fun at all. The players got bogged down in all of the minutia and unnecessary crunchiness that, frankly, wasn't really adding anything at all.
Well after 6 weeks of personal torture I FINALLY got my group to switch to Savage Worlds! They're LOVING IT! They were amazed at how Fast! Furious! and FUN! the rules were. After one of the players had his paladin bum rush a pair of goblins knocking them to the ground and then finishing them off the next round, he looked up at me and said "I love this game!" I knew I had them hooked! Now there's no turning back!
After I finish this campaign, one of the players was planning to run a game in another system. After our session last night he asked me to borrow my Explorer's copy. He's seriously considering running his game using SW!
I've learned my lesson. I'll never look at another hopelessly tedious rpg again! Make mine SAVAGE! It's good to be back!

I know how you feel. Anytime I run a game with hit points, even if I otherwise love the system, I now find it a tedious chore to handle combat. Fortunately I've always found it as easy as you did to convert players over to Savage Worlds. Welcome back.

By injecting fresh blood directly into his cheeks? _________________He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

I had a great game with my group last night. I've got a large group and in the past it's been a bit of a chore trying to keep everyone on track (which is one of the reasons we switched systems to Savage Worlds). Now while SW is helping TONS, things were still dragging as some players were trying to figure out what they wanted to do. So we tried something new. We worked it out so that the players all declared their actions before the cards were dealt out. Any sort of special actions were to be declared at the beginning then resolved after cards were dealt out for initiative. If something happened that changed what the player wanted to do they could change actions as a -2 penalty. That might seems a bit harsh, but it worked out perfectly. It made the combats a lot more focused and intense. We're going to try again next session and then decide whether we're going to make it a house rule. But so far I'm sold!

While my group isn't going totally savage (we've played many diverse game systems, so SW is 'just another system' for most of them, and my over-entousiastic approach backfired in the beginning), apparently SW is the system we're using the most right now. That's because of the uncomplicated rules, cool settings, ease of play (especially for a GM in our group of 9), and the fact most of us have a rulebook (2nd Ed. or SWEX), which wouldn't be the case if SWEX weren't so cheap.

So, while not too enamored with SW, my group does see its benefits. Just like any system has its pro's and cons._________________He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil